Millions of telephone calls are made to call centers and to individuals conducting businesses during every business hour. In an effort to service these calls most modem call centers have specialized departments and utilize an automated call-processing system to process incoming calls. In such systems an incoming call is typically answered by an automated voice and then the call is routed to the appropriate department responsive to caller input. Automated call receiving systems that can accept caller input are often referred to as interactive voice response (IVR) systems. A more sophisticated IVR system that can process or recognize speech input is often referred to as a speech recognition IVR. Parties typically call a call center to make an inquiry or request a service. A universal concern that callers have during interactions with IVR systems is where they are in process or system, where they are going to be routed and where they have been. Accordingly, there is a need for a call handling system that provides improved situational awareness for the party of a call.